Shelly hated the cold, and when I say hated, I mean hated with power of a thousand suns. She would rather wait in line at the DMV for days than live where even one snowflake fell, or lie in a box full of scorpions than reside anywhere the temperature dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

So when her parents decided to retire where her brother and his family lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and they invited her to join them for Thanksgiving, every cell her body screamed, "NO!"

"Oh, please, Honey! Shelly's mother pleaded over the phone the weekend before Thanksgiving. "We'll pay for the plane ticket. It's the last time the entire family will be together before you leave for Italy."

"Mom! Why did you ever move to Wyoming, of all places? Do they even have roads to John's house, or do they use sled dogs?" Shelly said trying to justify the decision not to come before she even made it.

"Oh, Shelly! It is SO beautiful here! And no, it's not cold right now. In fact, it's 65 degrees outside right now."

"How is that possible? You guys live...like, in the mountains with frozen lakes!"

"Yes, but we've been told it's unusually warm right now. Must be that global warming all you kids are talking about."

"Oh, mother..." Shelly cringed at the un-hipness of her parents, something she did quite frequently. "And how long is that unusual weather supposed to last?"

"I've heard all week, including Thanksgiving. I know how much you hate the cold."

"I don't think you do, mom. If you did, you wouldn't have moved to Wyoming. You know I may never set foot in your new home, even if you threaten to cut me out of your will if I don't."

"Silly girl," Shelly's mother said laughing. "You know there won't be anything left to put in a will for you or your brother."

"Very funny, ma!" She knew her parents were incapable of spending the millions they had. "E-mail me with the flight information and I just might see you Thursday."

"That would be wonderful dear! We can't wait to see you!"

The conversation replayed in Sally's mind as she waited for the flight from JFK to Salt Lake City to board. CNN played on the overhead TV, something Shelly usually ignored. But the story of a severe winter storm hitting the Rocky Mountain states--including Idaho and Wyoming--caught her attention. She accessed The Weather Channel on her iPad and checked out the details.

Shelly walked to the airline desk and pulled out her American Express card.

"Excuse me," she said to the pretty reservationist. "I'd like to book the next available flight to Cancun."

"Certainly." After a moment of furious fingers on the keyboard, she said. "I have one first class ticket on Delta leaving from the next concourse in one hour."

1 comment:

Who Am I?

Husband, Father, Writer, just your ordinary crime-fighting blogger, father of 4, husband of 1, owner of a dog, owned by 2 cats. I am a writer of the award winning short film, Wrinkles, and writer of the upcoming feature film, Edwin.